Chapter 4 The Bridal Chamber

  I was shocked, my head suddenly went blank. How could Wu Lele be gone? Did she wake up and leave on her own? Or... I didn't dare to think about it anymore, no matter what the situation was, I had to go back. If I stayed here any longer, I would go crazy!

  Just as I was about to take a step and run down the mountain, a faint sound of footsteps suddenly came from behind me. The voice was very light, but in this dark and quiet night, it seemed even more jarring. My conditioned reflex made me turn around, and I couldn't help but be startled - a person had suddenly appeared behind the coffin!

  She was dressed in a white dress, her long hair fluttering, staring at me with wide eyes. And she, surprisingly, was Wu Lele!

  "Where are you going?" she asked, her voice crisp. I took half a day to come back to my senses, stuttering: "Y...you're awake?" She didn't answer me, and instead asked again: "Where are you going?"

  Because of the moonlight, I saw her shadow and confirmed that she was a human being. My jumping heart finally calmed down, and imperceptibly, I felt a kind of familiarity with her, and secretly admired how amazing the fortune teller's calculation was, and Wu Lele really woke up.

  I went to ask her where she had gone earlier, and suddenly disappeared, scaring me half to death. She covered her mouth and smiled, saying she was going to the bathroom. After finishing, she looked at me again and said: "I saw you were leaving, I thought you didn't care about me anymore." I was very surprised and asked her how she knew I was there. She said: "I've always known, since you lay down beside me, but couldn't open my mouth to speak." I felt fortunate that I hadn't done anything to her earlier, or it would be awkward now.

  "Now that you're awake, let's go back." I don't want to stay in this damned place any longer.

  "Wait a minute." Wu Lele walked up to me and said: "We have to lie in this coffin for one night, otherwise my illness won't be cured."

  "This..." I hesitated.

  Wu Lele, however, climbed into the coffin by herself and, seeing me standing still, beckoned to me to come in. As the saying goes, a good person sees things through to the end, sending Buddha off to the West; now with a big live person by my side, I also became bolder and crawled into the coffin as well.

  We sat together in the coffin, and the moonlight shone gently on her face. She looked so delicate, like a famous princess, looking so quiet and enchanting. She was embarrassed by my gaze, asking me why I was staring at her. I withdrew my eyes and said you look really good.

  "Really?" She tilted her head, blinking her eyes playfully and asked: "Then are you willing to marry me as your wife?" Although I've lived for eighteen years, I'm still quite honest and have a loyal appearance, but up until now, I don't even have a girlfriend. Now hearing Wu Lele ask this, my heart felt a little excited, thinking she was joking, I casually replied: "You're so beautiful, of course I'm willing."

  "Hehe," she said with a smile: "In that case, let's just get married now." I said aren't we already married? She was surprised and said: "Isn't there still one more procedure to complete?" I asked her what procedure, she said: "The wedding night." I was startled, growing up this big I haven't even touched a girl's hand, how can you ask me to have a wedding night with you? I said we're just having a ghost marriage, not a real one, so there's no need for a wedding night.

  "You don't like me." She pouted immediately.

  "It's not that I don't like you..."

  "You think I'm ugly..."

  "No!" I was at a loss for words and explained to her: "We're still young, we can't get married, what if you can't marry later?"

  She immediately replied: "I'll marry you then."

  I didn't expect Wu Lele to be so open and fond of me, I was flattered and thought about the wedding night, my heart racing with excitement, almost to the point of nosebleeds, and for a moment, I didn't know how to respond.

  "Idiot!" Wu Lele suddenly kissed me on the cheek.

  I stared at her in surprise as she closed her eyes, waiting for me to kiss her. I didn't, I'm a decent person, and we were only having a mock wedding tonight, not the real thing. I wouldn't take advantage of someone like that, even though there were some things I really wanted to do.

  After a while, Wu Lele opened her eyes and saw that I hadn't moved. She whispered another sentence: "Wooden man!"

  I'm very depressed, actually I'm neither a fool nor a wooden man, just an honest person.

  Suddenly, Wu Lele let out a loud "ah" and jumped up, her face turning pale. I quickly asked her what was wrong, and Wu Lele trembled with fear, saying: "There... there's a bug crawling on my leg..."

  I looked at Wu Lele's legs and saw that she was wearing a white skirt, but because it was dark inside, I asked: "Where is it?" Wu Lele pointed to her left leg, trembling with fear, saying: "It's...it's here." I frowned and said: "Quickly grab it out!" Wu Lele closed her eyes and shouted: "I'm scared!"

  She cried out in a terrible manner, and in the urgency of the moment, I no longer cared about male-female etiquette, jumped up and lifted Wu Lele's skirt with one hand, revealing two snow-white legs, slender and delicate. I looked for half a day but didn't see any blood-sucking insects, so I asked: "Where are they?"

  "Wu Lele pointed between her legs and said: 'On top... on top.'"

  Because it was a woman's private parts, I didn't dare to look anymore, so I had to reach in and grab, feeling along Wu Lele's jade-like legs. Wu Lele's skin was smooth and tender, and as soon as I touched her, she couldn't help but shiver. I felt my way up, but even when I reached her upper abdomen, I still hadn't found the bug. I asked urgently: "Where is it?"

  Wu Lele seemed to be scared, pointing down and saying: "Here, here..." I didn't think twice, reaching towards Wu Lele's legs, but the warmth and softness of what my hand touched made me realize I had touched the wrong place.

  Wu Lele seemed to be frightened by the insect and didn't notice where I touched her, pointing at her upper body and shouting: "It's coming up, it's coming up..."

  I've learned my lesson, I no longer try to lift Wu Lele's skirt, instead I follow her instructions and pat the area she pointed out. I patted her abdomen, through her clothes it was just a layer of flesh, nothing else. I thought to myself, how did this bug move so fast? It was like trying to catch a fish, my hands quickly moved around Wu Lele's body, after a while, I still hadn't found anything. Suddenly, my palm accidentally touched something firm and soft, it was as if I had been electrocuted, my heart skipped a beat, and my whole body trembled. Wu Lele let out a sharp cry and hastily said: "Don't touch me there!"

  I shouted in extreme discontent: "Where is it?" Wu Lele cried and said: "It's...it's coming from the back..." I was extremely annoyed, and finally understood one thing: Wu Lele was fooling me.

  "Can't you just stop? My whole life's honor is being ruined by you in an instant..."

  "Hehe..." Wu Lele let out a strange laugh, then suddenly pounced on me and pushed me into the coffin.

  A man chases a woman across mountains and rivers, while a woman chases a man across layers of silk. Wu Lele took the initiative to throw herself into my arms, and then forced me to submit with her tyrannical ways. In the end, I still surrendered.

  After that, I fell asleep.

  When I woke up, what entered my eyes was my parents' faces, and I had already lain on the bed at home.

  I only feel extremely exhausted and dizzy, my parents immediately grabbed my hand as soon as I woke up and asked me how I felt, if there was anything uncomfortable. With great effort, I asked how did I come back? Wasn't I still in the coffin?

  My mother glared at my father as if blaming him for letting me lie in the coffin, then told me that I had been unconscious for a day and a night.

  I was shocked, I vaguely remembered what happened between me and Wu Lele in the coffin just last night, how did a whole day pass?

  Mother urged father to take a look at me, Father gave me a pulse, with a heavy face, I suddenly felt very sleepy, my eyelids couldn't open, and as soon as I closed my eyes, I fell asleep immediately.

  The following days were more painful. In my mother's words, I was in a coma all the time, constantly muttering "Le Le, Le Le..." and my whole body was cold, but my forehead was sweating profusely. Sometimes when I finally woke up, I would stare blankly at the air without making a sound.

  I didn't know all of this myself.

  Later, I regained some consciousness and saw my parents sitting in front of my bed, anxiously staring at me. Their faces were full of fatigue and worry, probably having not slept for a long time. My mother glared at my father and said, "You're a doctor, how can you cure others but not your own child?" My father didn't respond to my mother, only looking at me with infinite guilt and love, heavily sighing. My mother said, "Stop sighing all the time, Xiao Dao is possessed by evil spirits, go invite that Li Shenniang!" My father turned his face to the other side without speaking.

  His father was unwilling to go; as a doctor, he didn't believe in superstition.